Satya Prakash is a person.
New Delhi The date is July 26.
The government has asked the Supreme Court to allow Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the head of the Directorate of Enforcement, to continue working for a longer time. Mishra was supposed to retire on July 31 but the Supreme Court declared his past extensions as against the law.
A group of judges, led by Justice BR Gavai, agreed to consider the request from the government on Thursday afternoon at 3. 30 The government’s lawyer, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, asked for the request to be heard urgently and before Friday.
The Supreme Court said that the extensions given to Mishra as the director of ED are illegal and an attempt to cancel its previous directions on the issue.
The highest court gave permission for Mishra to keep working as the ED Director until July 31. This was because of a review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and to make sure the change goes smoothly for the benefit of the public. It requested the government to choose someone new to replace him for now.
A group of judges said that they had already ordered that Mishra would not get any more time. They said that both the Center and Mishra were involved in a case and they had to follow the order given in that case.
“We have determined that the first person being addressed could not have given orders on November 17, 2021, and November 17, 2022, that went against the instructions given by this Court in its ruling on September 8, 2021, in the Common Cause case,” it stated.
The Bench agreed with the changes made to the CVC Act, the DSPE Act, and the relevant rules. These changes allowed the government to extend the terms of the directors of ED and CBI for up to five years.
When the Bench said that the ability to review laws was limited, they meant that laws can only be set aside if they are not within the power of the legislature, if they violate fundamental rights, or if they are clearly unreasonable.
The Congress and TMC leaders filed petitions challenging the decision to extend Mishra’s tenure as the ED Director for the third time.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) decided on November 17 to allow Mishra to continue as the ED Director until November 18, 2023.
Mishra is a 63-year-old officer in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), working in the Income Tax Department. He joined the department in 1984. He was chosen to be in charge of the ED for two years starting from November 19, 2018. Afterwards, on November 13, 2020, the appointment letter was changed to say that the person’s term is now three years instead of two years.
In November 2021, the government made a rule that allows the directors of the ED and the CBI to continue their jobs for up to three more years after serving for two years. The government decided to extend Mishra’s time in office until November 18, 2022. This came after new rules were made that allow the directors of ED and CBI to stay in their positions for up to five years.
The law and the extension granted to him in 2021 were already being questioned before the highest court.
The highest court said that Mishra and the Centre can extend their time in office, but it should only happen in special situations when a person is older.
A short extension can be given to finish ongoing investigations, but only if the Committee has good reasons. The extension should only be for a short time.
